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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Review: Scott Pilgrim vs The World

This is my perfect movie. This may not be your perfect movie, but for someone who grew up on video games and comics this movie will speak to you.

Based on the comics by Bryan Lee O'Malley, the film follows Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) a 20-something slacker who falls for Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), the literal girl of his dreams. Scott soon finds out though that in order to be with her he must first battle and defeat her seven evil exes.

When we first meet him, Scott is self absorbed. The bassist for Sex Bob-omb, a garage band that he openly acknowledges isn't very good, he is jobless and living largely off of his friend and gay roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin). Still on the rebound from a bad break up a year previous, he is dating Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), a 17 year old, still in high school.

After having a dream about a girl, he later encounters her while out with Knives. Infatuated he begins chasing after her all the while still dating his current girlfriend. Avoiding confrontation, he begins dating Ramona without first breaking it off with Chau. He then invites Ramona to the first round of a Battle of the Bands that his band has entered. It is here that things take a different turn.

As the band begins to play Matthew Patel, Ramona's first evil ex crashes through the roof and demands Scott fight him. It is explained that Ramona's seven evil exes have formed a league with the intent to destroy anyone who wishes to date her.

That is the setup for the rest of the film that sees Scott trying to balance his life while having to engage in battles with different and creative villains. I don't want to ruin it for anyone who intends to see the movie so I'm not going to go into anymore detail about the story.

Edgar Wright who directed Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz helms a movie that is stylistically familiar and yet completely new. I've said before that I think he's one of the best directors today and after seeing this movie, to me, I'd say the best. Here he brings his style of quick cuts that anyone who's watched Spaced will be familiar with and ups the ante. With a mix of old school and sharp dazzling effects, he creates what is essentially a live action video game.

I'm not the biggest anime fan and the battles are crafted in that mold. Here though it works is such a way that makes for fight scenes like a I guarantee you've never seen. The movie really feels like you're watching a video game. Each evil ex is equipped with special powers unique to their personality. When they break out into fights no one seems particularly shocked. This is partly why it works so well. Everything is just accepted as the norm. There are points when Scott 'levels up' and even gets an extra life. When he defeats an evil ex, they turn into a shower of coins and the points ring up on screen. And the scenes are routinely scored with classic video game tunes.

Then there are the pop culture references which will put any comic and video game geek in heaven. But the references span more, covering all kinds of pop culture jokes. This is without even covering the music. Scott's band is written and performed by Beck. The music is purposefully written to sound like a garage band and is incredibly enjoyable for that. I can seriously seeing myself getting the soundtrack.

The cast is amazing. So often in a film you have a performance or two that stands head and shoulders above the rest, but Michael Cera is anchored by a supporting cast that all threaten to run away with the movie while on screen. I've never really cared for a Culkin in any incarnation, but Kieran is hilarious and plays the role to perfection. Jason Schwartzman who plays the head evil ex manages to be sinister and still keep perfect comedic timing.

I've heard some complaints about how fast the action moves, and that can be tiring to watch. While the action is blazing fast and will probably alienate some, those who have grown up with MTV and video games will have no problem keeping up.

The story itself is great. I read the comics and loved them. This veers in a different direction on several points but the movie was in production while only a few books in the series had yet been written. At the heart of it the story is about Scott growing up and learning to take responsibility for his life and actions. The fact that each of the characters manages to grow in a film that has so much action is a testament to the quality of the script.

I've heard a lot of critics say this is only for a certain generation and I can understand where that is coming from. This movie isn't going to be for everyone. It's for those who've slept in a tangle of power cords, played every fighting game under the sun while listening to loud indie rock; read graphic novels while powering up with day old pizza and day dreamed through independent movies. In short, this movie was for me.

15 comments:

I don't think this is for me, though I'd probably enjoy it. Though I grew up a computer geek, I am not a video gamer, and I don't like listening to music. I will wait for the DVD, and borrow someone else's copy.

Jason from Rushmore is my motivation to see this film. I'll wait for Netflix, I've gotten so picky lately. I really want to see that Life During Wartime movie. I love Todd Solondz. I forget if you mentioned it, it's playing like NOWHERE near us.

Awesome review dude, I was completely unfamiliar with the film and comic just a few months ago, but the more I have seen and heard of it the more I wanna get into the theater! If I miss it now I'll be grabbing the DVD for sure, but I was surprisingly disappointed with Kick-Ass.. The stylism you mentioned gives me hope for SP!

Would you say you're a big comic book fan still? If so, you should consider doing the occasional comic book review? Like comics for non-comic book fanatics (ie stand-alone ones like Blankets or ... other ones ha).

FYI This is a non-explicit compliment. I'm saying I enjoy your taste, so it'd be cool to open up the new door that is comic books.

Honestly, I was horrifically disapointed byt he movie. It should have been a game-changer, as far as letting video games meld with filmaking, but they turned it into a Michael Cera moive filled with hipsters and third rate indie music. In hindsight, that's probably why the movie tanked at the box office.